Robert J. Birgeneau

Biography

Abstract

Robert Birgeneau is a Physicist and University Administrator. During his career, he was President of the University of Toronto and Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley.

Important Dates

March 25, 1942Birth, Toronto (Ont.).

1963Obtained BSc in Mathematics, University of Toronto, Toronto (Ont.).

1966Obtained PhD in Physics, Yale University, New Haven (Conn.).

1966 – 1967Instructor in Engineering and Applied Science, Yale University, New Haven (Conn.).

1967 – 1968Rutherford Memorial Postdoctoral Fellow, Oxford University.

1968 – 1975Member, Technical Staff (1968-1974) and Research Head, Scattering and Low Energy Physics (1975), Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill (N.J.).

1968 – presentProgram Advisory Committee, High Flux Beam Reactor (1984-1987) and Guest Senior Physicist (1968-present), Brookhaven National Laboratory.

1971Visiting Scientist, Roskilde, Risø National Laboratory.

1974 – 1980Member, Solid State Advisory Council, National Research Council.

1975 – 2000Professor of Physics (1975-1982); Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics (1982-2000); Head, Solid State Atomic and Plasma Physics (1987-1988); Head, Department of Physics (1988-1991); and Dean of Science (1991-2000), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1977 – 1980Consultant, Bell Telephone Laboratories.

1979Visiting Scientist, Roskilde, Risø National Laboratory.

1980 – 1983Consultant, Thomas J. Watson Research Center, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).

1980 – 1984Member, Policy and Advisory Board, Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, Cornell University.

1982 – 1986Member, External Advisory Committee, Physics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory.

1983 – 1986Associate Director, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1985 – 1990Consultant, Sandia National Laboratories.

1986 – 1988Member, Executive Committee, Materials Physics Topical Group, American Physical Society.

1987Awarded Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize, American Physical Society.

1989 – 1990Member, Materials Research Advisory Committee, National Science Foundation.

1990 – 1997Member, Board of Trustees, Associated Universities, Inc.

1991 – 1994Member, Basic Energy Science Advisory Committee, United States Department of Energy.

1992 – 2001Member, Board of Governors, Argonne National Laboratory.

1992 – 2001Member, Board of Trustees, Boston Museum of Science.

1995 – 2000Member, Advisory Council, NEC Research Institute (NEC Labs America).

1997 – 2000Member, Board of Trustees, Brookhaven Science Associates.

1997 – 2000Member, Science Policy Committee, Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

1998 – 2001Co-Chair, Science and Technology Board, Polaroid Corporation.

2000Awarded Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize, American Physical Society.

2000 – 2004President, University of Toronto.

2000 – 2004Member, Board of Trustees, University Health Network.

2000 – 2004Member, Board of Directors, St. Michael's Hospital (Toronto, Canada).

2004 – presentProfessor of Physics (2004-present) and Chancellor (2004-2013), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley (Calif.).

Occupation

Solid state physicist.

Places

Birth

Toronto (Ont.)

Undergraduate Education

Toronto (Ont.)

Graduate Education

New Haven (Conn.)

Employment

Murray Hill (N.J.)

Cambridge (Mass.)

Berkeley (Calif.)

Subjects

Rare earth metal compounds.

Solid state physics.

Relationships

People

Colleagues

Ahlers, G. (Günter)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Alivisatos, P.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Al'tshuler, B. L.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Anderson, P. W. (Philip W.), 1923-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Appelbaum, J. A. (Joel A.)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Ashkin, Arthur, 1922-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Aspnes, D. E.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Benedek, George Bernard, 1928-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Bernstein, Ira B.

Both employed at Yale University.

Boyle, Willard S., 1924-2011

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Breit, Gregory, 1899-1981

Both employed at Yale University.

Brenner, Howard

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Brinkman, William F. (William Frank), 1938-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Bromley, D. Allan (David Allan), 1926-2005

Both employed at Yale University.

Buchsbaum, Solomon J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chandler, David, 1944-

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Chemla, D. S.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Chew, Geoffrey F.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Chu, Ching-wu, 1941-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Chynoweth, A. G.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Clarke, John, 1942-

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Clogston, Albert McCavour

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Cohen, Marvin L.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Commins, Eugene D.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Coppi, B.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Cutler, Cassius Chapin

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Darlington, Sidney, 1906-1997

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

David, Edward E.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Davidson, Ronald C.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Deutsch, Martin, 1917-2002

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

DiSalvo, Francis

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Draper, C. S. (Charles Stark)

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Dresselhaus, M. S.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Dynes, Robert C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories and University of California, Berkeley.

Enge, Harald A.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Falcone, Roger W.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Feshbach, Herman

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Fisk, James B. (James Brown), 1910-1981

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Fleury, Paul A.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Freedman, Daniel Z.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Freedman, Stuart J.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Friedman, Jerome I. (Jerome Isaac), 1930-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Fulton, Theodore Alan

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Gaillard, Mary K.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Galt, John Kirtland, 1920-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Geballe, Theodore H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Glaser, D. A.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Goldhaber, Gerson

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Goldstone, Jeff Alan

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Gossard, A. C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Guth, Alan H.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Hagstrum, Homer D.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Halperin, Bertrand I.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hamann, Donald, 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Haroche, S.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Haus, Hermann A.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Haxton, Wick C.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Hellman, Frances

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Herring, William Conyers, 1914-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hohenberg, Pierre C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hopfield, John J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Hughes, Vernon W.

Both employed at Yale University.

Jacak, Barbara

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Jackiw, Roman W.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Jackson, John David, 1925-2016

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Javan, Ali, 1926-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Joannopoulos, J. D. (John D.), 1947-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kaspi, Victoria Michelle, 1967-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kastner, Marc A.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kendall, Henry W. (Henry Way), 1926-1999

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Ketterle, Wolfgang

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Keyes, Frederick G. (Frederick George), 1885-1976

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Klein, Martin J.

Both employed at Yale University.

Kleppner, Daniel

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kompfner, Rudolf, 1909-1977

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Kulsrud, R. M.

Both employed at Yale University.

Lander, James J., 1914-1996

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lax, Benjamin

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Lax, Melvin J.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lee, P. A. (Patrick A.), 1946-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Lieb, Elliott H.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Livingston, M. Stanley (Milton Stanley)

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Louie, Steven G., 1949-

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Low, Francis E. (Francis Eugene), 1921-2007

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Mandelstam, Stanley

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Matthias, Bernd T., 1918-1980

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

McKee, Christopher, 1942-

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

McMillan, William L.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Morrison, Philip

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Morse, Philip M. (Philip McCord), 1903-1985

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Osheroff, Douglas D.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Page, Lyman A.

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Patel, C. Kumar N.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Penzias, Arno A.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Pfann, William G.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Phillips, J. C.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Phillips, William D. (William Daniel), 1948-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Porkolab, Miklos

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Price, Paul Buford

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Pritchard, David E. (David Edward), 1941-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Randall, Lisa

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Read, Nicholas

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Rice, Thomas Maurice, 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Richards, Paul L. (Paul Linford)

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Rossi, Bruno, 1905-1993

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Rowell, John Martin, 1935-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Shank, C. V. (Charles V.)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories and University of California, Berkeley.

Shapiro, Marjorie

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Shen, Y. R.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Shull, Clifford Glenwood

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Smith, George E., 1930-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Smith, Neville, 1942-2006

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Smoot, George

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Stanley, H. Eugene (Harry Eugene), 1941-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Steiner, Herbert M.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Stillinger, F. H.

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Stratton, Julius Adams, 1901-1994

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Tauc, J. (Jan)

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Thomas, D. G. (David Gilbert), 1928-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Thomas, Gareth, 1932-2014

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Ting, S. C. C. (Samuel Chao-chung), 1936-

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Townes, Charles H.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Trilling, George H.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Tsui, D. C. (Daniel Chee), 1939-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Weeks, John David

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Weiss, Rainer

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Weisskopf, Victor Frederick, 1908-2002

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Wiesner, Jerome B. (Jerome Bert), 1915-1994

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Wilson, Robert Woodrow, 1936-

Both employed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Zumino, B. (Bruno), 1923-

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Institutions

Major Positions

Bell Telephone Laboratories

Member, Technical Staff; Consultant; and Research Head, Scattering and Low Energy Physics.

Forskningscenter Risø

Visiting Scientist.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dean of Science.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

Professor of Physics; Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics; Head, Solid State Atomic and Plasma Physics; and Head, Department of Physics.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research Laboratory of Electronics

Associate Director.

Sandia National Laboratories

Consultant.

Thomas J. Watson IBM Research Center

Consultant.

University of California, Berkeley

Chancellor.

University of California, Berkeley. Department of Physics

Professor of Physics.

University of Oxford. Department of Physics

Rutherford Memorial Postdoctoral Fellow.

University of Toronto

President.

Yale University. School of Engineering & Applied Science

Instructor in Engineering and Applied Science.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Physical Society

Member, Executive Committee, Materials Physics Topical Group; 1987 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize Recipient; and 2000 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize Recipient.

Argonne National Laboratory

Member, Board of Governors.

Associated Universities, Inc.

Member, Board of Trustees.

Boston Museum of Science

Member, Board of Trustees.

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Guest Senior Physicist and Program Advisory Committee, High Flux Beam Reactor.

Brookhaven Science Associates

Member, Board of Trustees.

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

Member, Science Policy Committee, Advanced Light Source.

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Member, External Advisory Committee, Physics Division.

National Research Council (U.S.)

Member, Solid State Advisory Council.

National Science Foundation (U.S.)

Member, Materials Research Advisory Committee.

NEC Laboratories America

Member, Advisory Council.

Polaroid Corporation

Co-Chair, Science and Technology Board.

St. Michael's Hospital (Toronto, Ont.)

Member, Board of Directors.

United States. Department of Energy

Member, Basic Energy Science Advisory Committee.

University Health Network (Toronto, Ont.)

Member, Board of Trustees.

University of Toronto. Department of Physics

Obtained BSc (1963).

Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory (Cornell University)

Member, Policy and Advisory Board.

Yale University. Physics Department

Obtained PhD (1966).

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Symposium honoring the 1977 Nobel Prize in physics recipients [sound recording].

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA